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Strong growth forecast for US protein separation systems market
NEWS manufacturing facilities or sales offices in nine countries serving six continents. Contact: Polypore International Inc, 11430 N. Community House Road, Suite 350, Charlotte, NC 28277-1591, USA. Tel: +1 704 587 8409, www.polypore.net
Water purification product uses Inge UF module
M
IDEA, one of the largest household appliance and equipment manufacturers in China, has signed a cooperation agreement with Germany’s Inge AG, which is located in Greifenberg near Munich. Under this agreement, Inge will develop, design and manufacture ultrafiltration (UF) membrane modules specially for MIDEA. These will be used by the company to launch a new product for purifying drinking-water in the home. Since it was established during 2000, UF membrane specialist Inge has been active mainly in the municipal drinking-water and industrial process water purification sectors. It says the agreement with MIDEA represents a move into a new, promising market segment, as well as a milestone for its sales activities in China. It claims that by signing this deal it becomes the only international UF membrane manufacturer to enter the home UF water purification market in China. Under this agreement, Inge will add about 1 million to its turnover in 2007, but expects this to increase to 8 million over the next few years, according to a projection made by MIDEA. Throughout China the quality of water varies considerably. The distribution piping system is outdated and the water purification plants used by many municipalities do not meet current technology requirements. Through its Water Purification Equipment segment, which also manufactures and sells water dispensers, MIDEA is officially launching a product that will be used mainly to purify residential tap water. Based on the Multibore membrane, developed and patented by Inge, it removes particles, including viruses and bacteria, from the water. This provides Chinese consumers with a simple and secure way of generating clean water that is free of microorganisms. The decision to use the German technology follows a series of long-term and comprehensive tests done by MIDEA’s research department.
July 2007
These were also carried out on a range of different membrane brands from suppliers in Korea, Japan and China. Mareike Schmidt, head of Inge’s operations in China, commented: ‘This cooperation with MIDEA represents a highly valuable image increase for Inge, which cannot be underestimated in China. Up to now, our UF technology has only been implemented in projects for industrial water treatment, such as power plants, petrochemical and chemical facilities. This newly established cooperation with a wellknown company of such high reputation as MIDEA will open doors for Inge with many other companies.’ The MIDEA group has a good reputation both in China and internationally. Its product portfolio, which includes air-conditioners, water dispensers, microwaves and rice cookers, are distributed and sold throughout the world. Contact: Inge AG, Flurstrasse 27, D-86926 Greifenberg, Germany. Tel: +49 8192 997700, www.inge.ag
Strong growth forecast for US protein separation systems market
A
ccording to a technical market research report available from Business Communications Company Inc (BCC), the US market for protein separation systems was valued at almost US$3.0 billion in 2006, and is set to grow at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 11.1% to exceed US$5.0 billion by 2011. The study, entitled ‘Separation Systems for Commercial Biotechnology’, estimates that the liquid chromatography market was worth US$944 million in 2004 and more than US$1.1 billion in 2006. BCC says that this market has been showing exceptional growth because of its ability to separate large molecules before major analysis is carried out. This market is expected to reach US$2.1 billion by 2011 – which represents an AAGR of 13.0%. The membrane filtration segment, worth US$538 million in 2006, is predicted to reach US$898 million in 2011, with an AAGR of 10.8%. Although the capital costs involved in membrane filtration are higher than chemical treatment, systems use less space compared with chemical processes, which enables companies to reduce costs by up to 65%. The overall market for separation technology
has been quite strong, says BCC. Protein separation methods have improved by developments in technology, with the latest methods – using microarrays, ‘lab-chips’, flow cytometry and magnetic forces – providing stiff competition to traditional methods, such as chromatography, electrophoresis and centrifugation. Contact: Business Communications Co Inc, 40 Washington Street, Suite 110, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA. Tel: +1 781 489 7304, www.bccresearch.com
Team works to define Cryptosporidium risks
I
n the US, American Water has signed a second contract with The WateReuse Foundation to conduct a joint research project on the survival of Cryptosporidium following various reclaimed water treatment processes. Entitled ‘Determination of Cryptosporidium Occurrence, Infectivity and Genotyping in Wastewater Effluents’, this project will examine various conventional and innovative wastewater treatment processes. ‘Cryptosporidium is a pathogen of medical and veterinary concern and can cause diarrhoeal disease when contaminated water is ingested,’ said project leader Dr Zia Bukhari, Senior Environmental Scientist of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship at American Water. Numerous outbreaks of human disease have occurred, with the largest to date reported in Milwaukee in 1993, and another recent outbreak in Ireland. ‘Water is a precious natural resource, and its scarcity has increased demands for reclaimed water. As water providers, we need to better understand the microbial risks associated with reuse practices,’ continued Bukhari. American Water is also working with Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, in North Grafton, Massachusetts, employing sample collection, cell-culture and molecular methods to gain an insight into the performance of various wastewater treatment strategies. The total budget for the 24-month project is US$633 472, with US$340 980 in funds contributed by The WateReuse Foundation and US$292 492 of in-kind support from research partners. ‘This is a very exciting research project. This should allow the impact of treatment processes, disinfection, storage and system operation to be
Membrane Technology
5
Water purification product uses Inge UF module
M
IDEA, one of the largest household appliance and equipment manufacturers in China, has signed a cooperation agreement with Germany’s Inge AG, which is located in Greifenberg near Munich. Under this agreement, Inge will develop, design and manufacture ultrafiltration (UF) membrane modules specially for MIDEA. These will be used by the company to launch a new product for purifying drinking-water in the home. Since it was established during 2000, UF membrane specialist Inge has been active mainly in the municipal drinking-water and industrial process water purification sectors. It says the agreement with MIDEA represents a move into a new, promising market segment, as well as a milestone for its sales activities in China. It claims that by signing this deal it becomes the only international UF membrane manufacturer to enter the home UF water purification market in China. Under this agreement, Inge will add about 1 million to its turnover in 2007, but expects this to increase to 8 million over the next few years, according to a projection made by MIDEA. Throughout China the quality of water varies considerably. The distribution piping system is outdated and the water purification plants used by many municipalities do not meet current technology requirements. Through its Water Purification Equipment segment, which also manufactures and sells water dispensers, MIDEA is officially launching a product that will be used mainly to purify residential tap water. Based on the Multibore membrane, developed and patented by Inge, it removes particles, including viruses and bacteria, from the water. This provides Chinese consumers with a simple and secure way of generating clean water that is free of microorganisms. The decision to use the German technology follows a series of long-term and comprehensive tests done by MIDEA’s research department.
July 2007
These were also carried out on a range of different membrane brands from suppliers in Korea, Japan and China. Mareike Schmidt, head of Inge’s operations in China, commented: ‘This cooperation with MIDEA represents a highly valuable image increase for Inge, which cannot be underestimated in China. Up to now, our UF technology has only been implemented in projects for industrial water treatment, such as power plants, petrochemical and chemical facilities. This newly established cooperation with a wellknown company of such high reputation as MIDEA will open doors for Inge with many other companies.’ The MIDEA group has a good reputation both in China and internationally. Its product portfolio, which includes air-conditioners, water dispensers, microwaves and rice cookers, are distributed and sold throughout the world. Contact: Inge AG, Flurstrasse 27, D-86926 Greifenberg, Germany. Tel: +49 8192 997700, www.inge.ag
Strong growth forecast for US protein separation systems market
A
ccording to a technical market research report available from Business Communications Company Inc (BCC), the US market for protein separation systems was valued at almost US$3.0 billion in 2006, and is set to grow at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 11.1% to exceed US$5.0 billion by 2011. The study, entitled ‘Separation Systems for Commercial Biotechnology’, estimates that the liquid chromatography market was worth US$944 million in 2004 and more than US$1.1 billion in 2006. BCC says that this market has been showing exceptional growth because of its ability to separate large molecules before major analysis is carried out. This market is expected to reach US$2.1 billion by 2011 – which represents an AAGR of 13.0%. The membrane filtration segment, worth US$538 million in 2006, is predicted to reach US$898 million in 2011, with an AAGR of 10.8%. Although the capital costs involved in membrane filtration are higher than chemical treatment, systems use less space compared with chemical processes, which enables companies to reduce costs by up to 65%. The overall market for separation technology
has been quite strong, says BCC. Protein separation methods have improved by developments in technology, with the latest methods – using microarrays, ‘lab-chips’, flow cytometry and magnetic forces – providing stiff competition to traditional methods, such as chromatography, electrophoresis and centrifugation. Contact: Business Communications Co Inc, 40 Washington Street, Suite 110, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA. Tel: +1 781 489 7304, www.bccresearch.com
Team works to define Cryptosporidium risks
I
n the US, American Water has signed a second contract with The WateReuse Foundation to conduct a joint research project on the survival of Cryptosporidium following various reclaimed water treatment processes. Entitled ‘Determination of Cryptosporidium Occurrence, Infectivity and Genotyping in Wastewater Effluents’, this project will examine various conventional and innovative wastewater treatment processes. ‘Cryptosporidium is a pathogen of medical and veterinary concern and can cause diarrhoeal disease when contaminated water is ingested,’ said project leader Dr Zia Bukhari, Senior Environmental Scientist of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship at American Water. Numerous outbreaks of human disease have occurred, with the largest to date reported in Milwaukee in 1993, and another recent outbreak in Ireland. ‘Water is a precious natural resource, and its scarcity has increased demands for reclaimed water. As water providers, we need to better understand the microbial risks associated with reuse practices,’ continued Bukhari. American Water is also working with Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, in North Grafton, Massachusetts, employing sample collection, cell-culture and molecular methods to gain an insight into the performance of various wastewater treatment strategies. The total budget for the 24-month project is US$633 472, with US$340 980 in funds contributed by The WateReuse Foundation and US$292 492 of in-kind support from research partners. ‘This is a very exciting research project. This should allow the impact of treatment processes, disinfection, storage and system operation to be
Membrane Technology
5